Basket of Trouble
by Windrises
Summary: Tohru tries to start a small business, so she can make more money, but her first day doesn't get many customers. Kyo wants to support her and hopes he can raise her spirits.


Note: Fruits Basket is an anime that was done by Studio Deen and is based on a manga by Natsuki Takaya.

Tohru Honda was going for a walk, feeling good about herself and her life, in general. People often tried to tell her that her look on outlook was too positive, simplistic, and sweet. However, Tohru felt that being optimistic was the way to live life. It was a way to embrace life's positive attributes, no matter how rough or dramatic things got. Instead of surrendering to life's more negative qualities, she was prepared to fight the problems and live a life of positivity and cheerfulness. A lot of her friends cringed at her abundance of optimism, but she was okay with that.

There was one problem and it was a problem that Tohru had a hard time ignoring. This problem of hers involved money. Although she wasn't really broke, her wallet wasn't exactly sparkling with cash. She wanted more money, so she could buy stuff for her allies and do more fun stuff. In order to accomplish her goal, she decided to get a job. There were a few weeks where she struggled to come up with a future career. After thinking about hundreds of potential career options, there was one that made the most sense to her: Opening a fruit stand. Her plan was to sell baskets of fruit. A lot of Tohru's family and friends weren't very supportive of her new career. They thought it was a silly plan, because fruit wasn't very popular and wasn't a goldmine, when it came to profits. Tohru claimed she was going to give it a chance, which led to people giggling at her. She wasn't very fond of being made fun of, but she wasn't going to let a few jokes and giggles make her give up.

After a few days of setting up her fruit stand, Tohru felt ready to start her new career. She set up her fruit stand, near a bunch of stores. Her stand was setup a few blocks away from the grocery store, which was considered to be a bad idea. However, Tohru didn't seem too scared about competition. She looked around and saw people walking by. She tried to have a gentle, inviting look on her face, while saying, "Greetings, future customers." She paused and said, "I know you're probably here to go to some other store, but if you would give my fruit stand a chance, I'd be truly honored." She saw customers walking away from her. She sighed, feeling disappointed.

A few minutes later, Yuki Soma walked by. He had heard that Tohru was planning on opening up a stand. He wanted to be glad for his friend, but he was noticing the lack of customers. Yuki said, "Hi Tohru."

Tohru waved to him and replied, "Hi buddy. This is my first day of business. Well, I'm not exactly getting business, but it's a start."

Yuki responded, "Yeah, you shouldn't worry. Maybe more customers will come."

Tohru sighed and replied, "I haven't had any customers. Of course I'm not going to let that break my spirits, but it does give me some concern."

Yuki responded, "Perhaps I can help with that."

Tohru had a confused look on her face, while asking, "What do you mean?"

Yuki said, "I could be your first customer."

Tohru smiled and replied, "I appreciate that."

Yuki responded, "No problem. What does your stand sell?"

Tohru got out a basket and said, "Baskets of fruit."

Yuki replied, "Very well then. I'll have one basket."

Tohru responded, "Twenty dollars, please."

Yuki was surprised by the high price, but he was nice enough to not comment on that. He paid Tohru and started munching on the fruit.

A few minutes later, Kyo Sohma came by and bonked into Yuki. Yuki tripped and accidentally dropped the fruit basket into the sewer. Yuki said, "Oh no, I lost the basket. I spent twenty-dollars on that."

Kyo was amused by the situation, so he burst into laugher, and sarcastically said, "Great use of cash."

Yuki had a mildly offended look on his face, while saying, "Hey, I got that from Tohru's new stand, so you shouldn't make fun of it."

Kyo liked Tohru, so he quickly regretted his joking attitude. He said, "I'm sorry about that, bro." He tried to help Yuki get up, but he accidentally made Yuki drop his sunglasses into the sewer.

Yuki sighed and said, "Those also costed twenty-dollars."

Kyo replied, "Then spend your twenties more carefully. So, Tohru has a new stand?"

Yuki responded, "Yeah, she's selling baskets of fruit. She's not doing great, so you should visit her."

Kyo asked, "Can you give me a twenty, so I can buy one of her baskets?"

Because of Yuki's dedication to his friends, he said, "Okay then." He grabbed a twenty, out of his wallet. Kyo gave him a handshake, which made Yuki lose his grip on the twenty. He accidentally dropped the bill into the sewer.

Kyo replied, "Please give me another twenty." Yuki angrily sighed and gave him a twenty.

Five minutes later, Kyo walked by Tohru's fruit stand. Seeing Kyo was a pleasant surprise for Tohru. She liked him a lot, even if she would try to be casual about it. During the past few minutes, Tohru had only had a few more customers. She said, "Hi Kyo. It's good to see you."

Kyo proudly replied, "I'm used to hearing that. I'm considered to be one of the most charming ands hippest guys of all time. I'm waiting for a statue, in my honor."

Tohru responded, "I don't mean to be rude, but did you come to be helpful or to brag?"

Kyo nervously laughed and said, "I'm sorry for getting carried away."

Tohru lightly smiled and replied, "It's okay, Kyo. I'm used to your antics."

Kyo had an offended look on his face, while asking, "Antics?"

Tohru regretted the way she worded that. Everybody knew that Kyo was far from normal, but he wasn't exactly the master of antics. She said, "I didn't word myself too well."

Kyo replied, "Don't worry about it. I'm guilty of wording myself terribly."

Tohru smirked and responded, "That's for sure."

Kyo angrily replied, "Hey." He was so upset, that he grabbed one of the fruit baskets and threw it into a nearby sewer.

Tohru said, "I was just joking around. I don't think you're that silly. In fact, I think you're pretty cute."

Kyo blushed and asked, "Really?" Tohru nodded. Kyo said, "Well, you're a much better example of cuteness. You're one of the most adorable people in the world."

Tohru heavily blushed and replied, "I really appreciate that, but that doesn't change the fact that you owe me twenty dollars."

Kyo had a confused look on his face, while asking, "What are you talking about?"

Tohru explained, "You threw one of the fruit baskets into a sewer."

Kyo nervously laughed and said, "I'm sorry about that. I'm going to be back soon. I just need to get another twenty."

Tohru jokingly replied, "Okay then. By the way, if you want to throw away more fruit baskets, feel free to. Just make sure you can afford to."

Kyo smirked and responded, "That sounds like quite the plan. I should get a part-time job, so I can afford to buy every one of your fruit baskets, and throw them away."

Tohru nervously asked, "You know I was joking, right?"

Kyo scratched his head and said, "I guess."

Tohru had her chin down, while saying, "This fruit business probably wasn't a very good idea. You and my other friends tried to warn me, but I insisted on giving this a try. I probably look like a fool, don't I?"

Kyo wanted to make Tohru feel better, so he gently lifted her chin up, and said, "You aren't a fool. Out of all of our friends, I'm the big fool."

Tohru replied, "I would never call you that, but there were a few times when you came into class, wearing a clown costume."

Kyo said, "That was a fun adventure, despite getting lots of unfunny detentions. Anyways, I don't think your business is that bad. This is your first day of business. If you keep putting in effort and keep following your heart, you can accomplish amazing things."

Tohru was surprised, but deeply touched by Kyo's words. She looked at him and replied, "Thank you, Kyo. That means a lot to me." She started holding his hand, while saying, "Perhaps we can inspire each other."

Kyo asked, "What does that mean?"

Tohru explained, "When one of us is in doubt, we can give hope and support to each other."

Kyo replied, "That plan isn't that awful."

Tohru lightly smirked and responded, "No offense, but you probably should of said something, like that's a good plan or something like that. Saying it isn't absolutely awful, isn't the highest of compliments."

Kyo replied, "Fair enough. I must admit that I'm not the master of compliments."

Tohru jokingly responded, "That's one of the most accurate things you've ever said."

Kyo said, "Hey."

Tohru gently nudged Kyo and replied, "I was just kidding."

Kyo lightly chuckled and responded, "I'm also not a master of understanding jokes, despite dressing up like a clown."

Tohru said, "Nobody's perfect."

Kyo replied, "You're pretty close."

Tohru gently picked Kyo's cheek and said, "You're too precious."

Kyo proudly stood around, with his hands on his hips, and replied, "I suppose I'm quite adorable. However, I was hoping to be called hot, so I kind of failed."

Tohru winked and asked, "Who said you weren't hot?" Kyo was so happy, that he started doing a corny victory dance. Tohru said, "Instead of dancing around, you could be doing something more meaningful." She pointed to her lips. Kyo misunderstood her, so he used a napkin to wipe some fruit crumbs off of her face. Tohru pulled Kyo closer and gave him a kiss. Kyo did another victory dance.

Kyo smiled and said, "Thank you, Tohru. I haven't felt so happy in a long time."

Tohru blushed and replied, "Aww, you really like me, don't you?"

Kyo responded, "I think I do. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Tohru said, "You were planning on buying another fruit basket."

Kyo remembered that, so he replied, "Okay." He gave Tohru a quick hug and said, "I'll be back."

A few minutes later, Kyo ran up to Yuki, so he could borrow another twenty. He accidentally bumped into Yuki, causing a bunch of twenties to fall into the sewer. Kyo nervously laughed and said, "I'm sorry about that. Can I have another twenty?"

Yuki replied, "I'm sorry, but you've pushed my limit."

Five minutes later, Kyo walked back to Tohru and said, "I'm sorry, but I won't be able to afford another fruit basket."

Tohru gently replied, "That's okay, because you gave me the best basket of all, the basket of happiness."

Kyo asked, "Isn't that kind of corny?"

Tohru looked mildly offended, while saying, "If you say that again, you're not getting another kiss."

Kyo nervously started dancing, while saying, "I'm sorry. You're super sentimental, but in a good way."

Tohru gave Kyo a big hug and said, "Thank you for your support.". Tohru's business didn't start off as well as she wanted to, but she was determined to keep on trying. She and Kyo had a feeling of comfort in their hearts, because they knew they had each other, for baskets of support and love.


End file.
